.243 lowest cost, best all around round?

[win71]

Slightly confusing

It is true that 50-60 % of pigs reported taken came from the lead free area. And most of those came out of Monterrey County. Most of California is not in the lead free zone. Pigs are killed almost everywhere. I've killed them in Humboldt, Shasta, and Tehama counties with Tehema the most.
However, if you intend to primarily hunt in a lead free area it may be of concern.
I bought a Rem mod. 600 in 243 in 1964 mainly for my smallish wife to hunt with. 80 and 100 gr. were the only store bought ammo around then. I started loading for it in 1972 and have since owned several. Currently I have three. A 700 varminter bought in 1977, a pre 64 win. and a L579 Sako. I use 60 gr. HP or 70 gr. bthp match for varmints and 100 gr. spitzers for deer. I have used 100 gr. round nose for pigs.
Hand loading will bring out almost anything you want in a 243.

 

[JASmith]

The .223 & .260 Remington are really hard to beat!

.223 fine for varmints + plinking. Ammo low cost

.260 Rem works about as well as .270 on most classes of game.

 

[rangerruck]

if deer is you biggest game, then I agree, if going any bigger, then the good ol 30.06 fits your above statement.

 

[jbech123]

Why is the 243 such a barrel burner? I keep hearing this but it is not apparent to me why a 223 is not known as one but the 243 is?

 

[blackops]

I will take a 22-250 or a 243 before I put my hands on a 223 any day of the week.

 

[mboylan]

The .243 is not really a barrel burner. A barrel will certainly last 5000 rounds or more depending on the load and the barrel. Just don't expect the barrel life of a .30-30.

The .22-250 is a barrel burner. You can still get up to 3000 rounds out of a barrel.

 

[natman]

Why is the 243 such a barrel burner? I keep hearing this but it is not apparent to me why a 223 is not known as one but the 243 is?

The 243 uses a 308 Winchester case with only a 6mm bullet. The combination of a large case / small bore is hard on barrels. The 223 has a small bore but a small case. The 22-250 has a small bore and a large case and it too is hard on barrels.

 

[Art Eatman]

Looking only at hunting and leaving prairie dogs out of the equation: There is no way a deer/coyote/hog hunter can wear out a barrel in any meaningfully short period. It's gonna take years and years of hunting.

Very few people ever have a chance for more than a few days a year to hunt. Maybe a few weeks. I'm not talking about those few. Most hunters don't shoot often enough in any one year to burn out a barrel in a lifetime.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Art speaks wisely on the overbore / barrel life issue - not something to worry about at all for the vast majority of folks!

 

[Water-Man]

6.5x55 Swede!

 

[jbech123]

Thanks for the barrel life responses, it seems over the last few months people have been putting the 243 in a worse light. I knew a 308 was good to 8-10K barrel life, and had heard a 243 is about half that..seemed reasonable. Then someone said 3k. Then a few weeks ago someone said 2k. Then there was this in the current thread...

The only hesitation I have on 243 is the short barrel life - I like to practice and a 243 barrel may not last even a thousand rounds.

That seems like BS...

 

[Legionnaire]

I like the .243. In fact, just sold my .223 bolt gun to acquire a nice .243, to use as my primary varmint gun. I prefer .308 for deer-sized game, even though the .243 would do the trick. I just never took to the .223, preferring a bit more down-range oomph. I think you'll be happy with the cartridge.

 

[DAdams]

Armed Bear

I'd want the .308 in a sporter-weight carbine, with a light, lower-powered scope,

Give me some examples of your favorites or recommends.

Thanks.

 

[millertyme]

Even with everything everyone else has said, I'd stick with a Handi Rifle in .223 or .243 for the small stuff and get a second barrel mated in something more substantial, preferably .308. The .243 will be great for deer on down (as everyone has previously proclaimed), but once you get into anything bigger you better do the same. I know a guy here in Arizona who hunts elk with a .243 and in 9 draws he's taken 9 bulls on 10 shots (claims the wind kicked up jst as he was squeezing the trigger). None of the shots were more than 150m, but each one went down without traveling too far. Not something I'd recommend, especially since cost is a concern and his rifle is a $1500 Sako with a $500 Leupold. But a Handi Rifle with a couple barrels will save you tons of money and will fill both roles with a simple switch.

 

[Art Eatman]

While my .243 is not my only hunting rifle, I guess I've put a thousand rounds through it over the last thirty or so years. I tested some loads not long back and got 1/2 MOA. Went prairie dog shooting, maybe a hundred rounds that day. Rough on pariirie dogs. However, I didn't shoot long strings in rapid fashion...

 

[ArmedBear]

Give me some examples of your favorites or recommends.

Take your pick. A common bolt gun, 20-24" barrel, in .308, .270 or .30-06, with a 3-9x40mm scope that isn't overweight makes a great all-around hunting rifle. Lead-free bullets are readily available. Some are heavier or lighter than others. These are the most common rifles you will see; you have to decide what you like.

IMO Savage has a really good combo of price, accuracy, light weight, features and trigger, but I don't own one. The new Winchester 70 Featherweight is a great rifle, but not exactly cheap. Personally, I would avoid Remington; their low-end stuff is junk and their decent stuff is too expensive for what it is. I have a Weatherby Vanguard Sporter in .30-06. It's a great gun, but on the heavy side. CZ is definitely worth a look, though also heavy. People like Tikkas, as well.

That's a whole big can of worms to open. Search for threads, or open a new one.

 

[Warhawk83]

Arkansas Paul said:

As far as a rifle, take a look at the Weatherby Vangaurds. $400 and MOA out of the box. You can look at a target to check. One comes with every rifle.

Mine straight out of the box was 15/16'' group at 100 yards with spire points.
Out the door with scope and tax $600. It's.243 btw, I'll be deer hunting with it in a month.

 

[ECVMatt]

I just got an email from Hornady and 6mm GMX is coming soon!

That makes four lead free bullets if you need to use them.

 

[Redneck with a 40]

I shoot about 1000 rounds/year out of my .308, so barrel life is an issue for me, part of the reason I went with a heavy barrel .308. I really enjoy medium range target shooting, 300 yards. My rifle is a remmy 700 sps tac, 20" bull barrel.

 

[Bluenote]

The only hesitation I have on 243 is the short barrel life - I like to practice and a 243 barrel may not last even a thousand rounds. Consider a 260 rem. and everyone should have a 223.

I disagree , I've got probably 6000 rounds through the Shilen barrel on my Savage based varmint rig and it;s not anywhere near 'worn out' , probably pit 2500 through to stock barrel prior to the change , it's still sitting here waiting to be use on another Savage action at some point.

You're not going to wear out a .243 barrel in a thousand rounds , not even with upper end handloads.

 

[Bluenote]

It is true that 50-60 % of pigs reported taken came from the lead free area. And most of those came out of Monterrey County. Most of California is not in the lead free zone. Pigs are killed almost everywhere. I've killed them in Humboldt, Shasta, and Tehama counties with Tehema the most.
However, if you intend to primarily hunt in a lead free area it may be of concern.
I bought a Rem mod. 600 in 243 in 1964 mainly for my smallish wife to hunt with. 80 and 100 gr. were the only store bought ammo around then. I started loading for it in 1972 and have since owned several. Currently I have three. A 700 varminter bought in 1977, a pre 64 win. and a L579 Sako. I use 60 gr. HP or 70 gr. bthp match for varmints and 100 gr. spitzers for deer. I have used 100 gr. round nose for pigs.
Hand loading will bring out almost anything you want in a 243.

It's actually TehAma , and we've got a bumper crop this year , but the mexican dope growing cartels out behind Paskenta , up into the Mendocino and the Yolla Bolly are especially bad this year too.

More hogs up here than when I lived down in SLO county and they were real bad down there and all the way up into San Benito and Monterey counties.

Shoot me a line if you come up this way.

 

[Bluenote]

Looking only at hunting and leaving prairie dogs out of the equation: There is no way a deer/coyote/hog hunter can wear out a barrel in any meaningfully short period. It's gonna take years and years of hunting.

Very few people ever have a chance for more than a few days a year to hunt. Maybe a few weeks. I'm not talking about those few. Most hunters don't shoot often enough in any one year to burn out a barrel in a lifetime.

Yup , I shoot .243 a lot , have for years , and while I've had accuracy degrade it's never been until well past the 7500-8000 round mark and sometimes not then , I've heard these stories for years and all those same years have been at times shooting as much as 500 rounds in a weekend through a given rifle at various varmints from crows to ground squirrels , prairie dogs ,coyotes etc.

You're absolutely correct in that the average guy who shoots a few weekends a year will effectively *never* wear out a .243 barrel. And over the years I've shot deer , antelope , quite a few hogs and two elk with the caliber ,including the first elk I ever shot decades ago in the early '70s as a teenager in wyo. 1 round heart/lung shot , dropped with 20 yards.

It's not quite optimum for larger or dangerous but it's quite certainly usable ,easy to shoot , economical and quite accurate.

 

[Bluenote]

.22-250 is a great varmint round. Perhaps it's THE great varmint round.

"Lowest-cost" per the OP's question? No.

Is 100 grain .243 a pig round? I don't think so. Is South African ammo lead-free for California pig hunting? No. You can't use it, so it's not relevant.

I'm not going to get into a protracted arguement with you about it , I'll just point out that you're in error , this is a BBIIIIGGG state ,it's not all a 'lead free' zone and I live right in the middle of some of the best hoghunting in the state , which is NOT a lead free zone. And I'd be surprised if half the hogs in this state were in the 'Condor zone'.

As for the .243 not being a hog gun , seems like every hog I shot with a .243 expired , same with quite a lot of others utilisng the round. But then I've had folks tell me I couldn't kill 'em in brush country with a handgun or a .30-30 too , and that's equally untrue.

And I've seen folks shoot 'em badly with large magnums and have them run off. It comes back to bullet placement and how good you are with whatever it is that you're carrying.

 

[andrewshogun]

thanks for all the feedback folks. this has been very helpful. so the verdict for me is: buy a .223 for now for my plinking/varmint shooting, and a .308 in the future for bigger game hunts. Looks like two rifles for intended purpose is the way to go. Any other viewpoints, just let me know! Thanks. P.s. Looking at the Howa1500 package gun in 223, which comes with the sterling nikko scope.

 

[cluttonfred]

If cost is a factor, I would +1 on the suggestion that the H&R Handi Rifle with the option of adding an extra barrel or two would be an excellent choice. I remember that in the past H&R would also lighten the trigger pull somewhat when you send it in for a new barrel, if you ask them to do so. I don't know that they still do so under the new management. Personally, I am partial to their pretty CR-45LC carbine in .45 Long Colt, but that's neither here nor there.